Chipping Norton School Physics Trip 1976

Introduction

In 1976, Chipping Norton School, where I was an A level student, organised a trip for the Physics students to see three physics-related locations near Southampton.

The Chipping Norton School Physics Trip was an initiative to show students of A level physics how the subject is put to good practical use beyond the classroom by leading industries and academic researchers, in commercial products, in areas of study that might benefit future product development, in innovative methods of power generation and securing the safe passage of shipping, amongst other things. It was also an opportunity to spend a few days of interesting and unique times away from the mundane home and school routine.

I took quite a lot of photos during this trip, and wrote it up afterwards, and still have a copy of my typewritten report. In December 2025 and January 2026, I scanned all of my negatives of photos taken on this trip and post-processed them with contemporary software, resulting in this updated report including 89 original photos, 26 colourised photos, and scans of the original 2530 word report.

Student participants

• Alan West
• John Craft
• Keith Graham
• Anthony Goodwin
• Deirdre Phillips
• Glenville Fowler
• John Edginton
• Colin Seymour
• Steven Nicks
• Michael Turner

Staff participants

• John D. Wooldridge
• Peter H. Scrase

Itinerary

• JULY 12: NPL Division of Maritime Science
• JULY 13: Southampton University
• JULY 14: Plessey Telecommunications

Facebook Group for Ex Chipping Norton School Students

If you came across this page looking for anything to do with Chipping Norton School, then you should be aware that there is a Facebook Group for Chipping Norton School alumni. There are already quite a few people on there, including students from before, after and during the time that I created this trip report.

I WENT TO CHIPPING NORTON SCHOOL & IT'S SERVED ME WELL
https://www.facebook.com/groups/103734066340284/posts/8668373656542906

The Report

All pictures shown on this page are thumbnails. Please click to view them full size. All photographs are Copyright by C J Seymour 1976 unless specifically attributed. All Rights Reserved.

I suggest you open the images of the report in one window and follow the relevant photos by opening them in a separate window. To support being able to do this, the photos are listed in chronological order of being taken.

The Photographs

Notes

[1] The Chipping Norton School Minibus

This was one of the incarnations of the classic Ford Transit Mark 1.

The Mark 1 (Mk1) Ford Transit, produced between 1965 and 1978, revolutionized the light commercial vehicle market by offering a purpose-built, high-capacity minibus that blended passenger car comfort with commercial utility. The Mk1 featured a front-mounted engine, allowing for a flat floor, more cabin space, and safer handling. The minibus variant offered versatile seating, often designed for group transport, school outings, or as police personnel carriers. Due to its high performance and large capacity (up to 1.75 tonnes of load), the Metropolitan Police noted in 1972 that it was used in 95% of bank raids!

The number of seats varied, with common configurations including 12 or 16 passenger seats, and the interior generally had minimal soundproofing, which could result in a "booming" sound when driving over rough surfaces.

The number plate GUD 903N, with an 'N' suffix, indicates the date of first registration was between August 1st 1974 and July 31st 1975.

Six decades of an icon - the Ford Transit as it celebrates its 60th anniversary
"Initially, the first three months of production at Ford’s Langley plant was dedicated to short wheelbase versions which could be picked up for £542. Soon production ramped up to include long wheelbase, chassis cab, minibus and kombi variants..."
https://www.parkers.co.uk/vans-pickups/news/2025/60-years-of-the-ford-transit/

Ford Transit
"Another key to the Transit's success was the sheer number of different body styles: panel vans in long and short wheelbase forms, pick-up trucks, minibuses, crew-cabs to name but a few..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit

Ford Transit Mk1 Police Minibus (1974)
https://tvmoviefilmactionvehicles.co.uk/product/ford-transit-mk1-police-minibus/

[2] Subsounders

"Subsounder C.U." is written on the back of my photo envelopes, but I cannot recall what exactly "C.U." stood for - nowadays such a device is known as an Upward-Looking Sonar (ULS) (more commonly used to measure sea ice draft), whereby the time taken for a sound pulse to return from the underside of the ice, water surface, or ship, enables the instrument to calculate the distance or draft between the object and the location of the device (usually on the sea or river floor).

[3] Grounds of Southampton University (Highfield Campus Valley Gardens)

There are two buildings currently visible on Google Maps with similar appearances to the photograph on page 50. However, this particular view no longer exists as there have been significant building and landscaping changes since the 1970s, with new buildings such as the Jubilee Sports Centre. Nevertheless, the Valley Gardens still have merit as described in the following links:

Suburban Safari: The Secret Garden
"It’s a garden view that astounds from the start. Right now, as summer is still firing, the borders are ablaze with light and texture. The grass glows, the trees encircle you with their rich bounty and every hydrangea, fuchsia and lily is positively overflowing with colour..."
https://www.in-common.co.uk/2021/08/13/suburban-safari-the-secret-garden/

University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Valley Gardens
"Over the years many specimen trees have been planted, some in memoriam to members of staff and students. A small experimental botanic garden which had been sited along the stream, has now been landscaped as an amenity for staff and students, and named Valley Gardens..."
https://research.hgt.org.uk/item/university-of-southampton-highfield-campus/

Highfield Campus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highfield_Campus

[4] The Berni Inn at Salisbury

The Berni Inn in Salisbury is now gone, as the entire chain was bought by Whitbread in 1995 and converted into Beefeater restaurants. The Berni Inn was apparently known for its steak, prawn cocktails, and Black Forest gateau.

HERITAGE: 1970 memories of a three-course meal at the Berni Inn for 10 bob
13th September 2018
https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/16831965.heritage-1970-memories-three-course-meal-berni-inn-10-bob/

Bygone Salisbury: A feast at Berni’s - and all for ten bob!
15th February 2024
https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/24113493.bygone-salisbury-feast-bernis---ten-bob/

[5] Chipping Norton School Physics Trip group gathered by the school minibus

The car visible off to the left in these photos is probably a Ford Capri Mk2 1600 GT, and the fragment of license plate visible suggests that it may have been registered in the UK around 1973-1974.

The object being held by John Craft may be a kilikiti bat, which is used in the traditional Samoan game of kilikiti.

Original Black and White Negative and Print Envelopes

The Physics Trip photos were scanned from the original black and white negatives and post-processed in December 2025 and January 2026. Three rolls of Kodak Plus-X Pan Safety Film were used (two 36 exposure and one 20 exposure). This type of film was discontinued in 2011. The first of this type of film, known as Plus-X, was made around 1938 with speed of 50 ISO; it typically had a film speed of 125 ISO for the version produced starting in 1954 known as Plus-X Pan. It has a reputation for sharpness, fine grain, and exposure latitude.

Camera Equipment Used

This Agfa Silette 1 camera was inherited from my grandfather (on my mother's side) Harry Garrett (1905 - 1974), who was a keen photographer. I used it until I acquired a Praktika LTL 3 while at University, some time after 1978. It is shown with a Sunpak GX20 electronic flash which I am fairly sure is the one that I used for the Physics Trip photos (before I bought the Sunpak GX20, which was probably in the early 1970s, I used a flash bulb based National Hyper Flash Gun PB-3S).

Aperture and shutter speed on the Agfa Silette 1 were set manually and to get these settings right I used a Hanimex Sekonic light meter, also inherited from my grandfather.

Post Processing Software Used